Down the Bunnie Hole: Remix

I do not eat raw bananas but will devour any banana flavored or baked goodies. It’s one of those weird things about myself and my toddler inherited too LOL.

In fact, I love baking with ripened bananas. You know when they get so disgustingly brown and ready to smush? So variations of banana breads and muffins are something that I regularly bake for my family. The little one especially loves the muffins, but I’ve been on the search for something other than the typical banana bread variation. VIOLA! I share with you- Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies!

These cookies are super soft and almost bread like. I would compare it to the softness of a muffin top. Recipe follows below:

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup mashed bananas ( I had 3 really ripened bananas so i just used them all in my case)

• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use silpat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffly. Beat in eggs one at a time and add your vanilla extract and mashed banana.

Shape dough into 1 to 1 1/2” balls and place on prepared baking sheet. Leave about 3 inches between these cookies spread.

Bake 11-14 minutes, until light golden brown. Allow them to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring onto wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

I’ve been so busy the past couple of months that I haven’t had a chance to blog much- so here I return with a delicious pumpkin muffin recipe perfect for this time of year! Seems like it was just summer and now BAM! all the leaves are now changing colors to the beautiful hues of Fall we all love. The apple orchards here are brimming with perfect apples and of course the pumpkins and gourds galore! Nothing beats a New England fall…it really is such a wonderful time of year.

I’m always enjoying all the pumpkin flavored drink concoctions and baked goods this time of year… but it is always so much nicer to bake a lovely batch of warm muffins on a chilly fall morning for your loved ones. I made these this morning and they are super moist and just the right amount of sweetness. My toddler LOVES it.

This recipe makes a dozen delicious muffins.

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Muffin Batter:

• 1 can or 15 oz pumpkin puree
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 cup +1 tbsp white sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• A pinch of nutmeg
• 2 pinches of salt

Streusel Topping:

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tbsp sugar
• Handful of pecans (or  walnuts) chopped finely
• 1 1/2 tbsp of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Prepare your topping by mixing softened butter with the sugar. Add your nuts, flour and cinnamon and mix but do not OVER mix- it should resemble the texture of bread crumbs.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Whisk egg, brown sugar, white sugar and vegetable oil. Add in vanilla extract and pumpkin puree. Sift all your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt) into the wet ingredients. Stir and whisk til everything is combined nicely. Now scoop the batter into muffin cups, sprinkle your topping and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

damndelicious:

Can you believe we’re already in July?! I swear, I still feel like New Year’s Eve was just 2 weeks ago. It’s crazy how time is just zooming by! Next thing you know, I’ll be posting Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes! Actually, now that I think I about it, I should start researching Thanksgiving dishes. I like planning in advance. Jason thinks I’m crazy for mentioning Thanksgiving this early in the year but I think it’s just having good sense! Wouldn’t you foodies agree?

Read More

Perfect for summer :)

In my efforts to finish off the last batch of pistachios (I had in this huge bag- I’ve been snacking on for months!) and a little left over white chocolate chips- I was on the search for something quick and easy- and I found a cran-pistachio cookie recipe from the girls who ate everything’s blog-so I just added the white chocolate chips and tadaaa!

It’s incredibly easy cookie recipe for any pistachio lover. The texture of these cookies is so amazingly soft and chewy. 

Cran-Pistachio White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe adapted from:Betty Crocker

• 1 pouch Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
• 1 box (4 serving size) pistachio instant pudding and pie filling mix
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup dry roasted salted pistachio nuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl stir together sugar cookie mix, pudding, and flour. Add the melted butter and eggs and stir until incorporated. It will look firm and doughy like this.

Gently add pistachios, cranberries and white chocolate chips Stir til combined.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. I let my toddler use his hands and roll a few balls- the dough is that easy to work with!

Bake for 8-10 minutes. I baked them for exactly 9 minutes and then cooled on the pan for 2 minutes before I transferred to wire rack to cool completely.

Be careful as to not overbake these cookies! The cookies won’t look done but if you bake them too long you will lose this incredible soft chewy texture and they won’t be as green!

Store in an airtight container and enjoy!!!

Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

It’s June- and that means Strawberry season is here! I can’t wait to go strawberry picking. So to celebrate Strawberry season here is a really easy and delicious strawberry recipes that anyone can do!

Recipe adapted from Nutmeg Nanny.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries:

1 pound large strawberries

8oz. block soften cream cheese

3 – 4 TBS powdered sugar (depends on how sweet you want the filling- I used a heaping 3 TBS)

1TSP almond extract (or use vanilla, lemon, etc. )

Graham cracker crumbs

Optional: Chopped chocolate chunks

Instructions:

Clean your strawberries and pat them dry. Using a paring knife cut around the top of the strawberry- removing the top and clean out inside if necessary. Most of the strawberries already had a nice hollow center so that step was not necessary- so it just depends. If you want to stand your strawberries upright- like how I did in my pictures-slice a bit off the bottom so the strawberry can balance itself. Set them all aside.

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and almond extract with a mixer or by hand. Add cream cheese mix to piping bag and fill strawberries.  I’ve had them with vanilla extract and I personally prefer the almond flavor- but it’s up to you- both taste fabulous. If you don’t want to pipe the mixture you can just spoon it in but they won’t look as pretty. Once strawberries are filled, dip the top in graham cracker crumbs and sprinkle chopped chocolate.

You could also drizzle or dip strawberries in chocolate if desired to fancy it up.

You can store the stuffed strawberries in the fridge. They are simply irresistible and tastes particularly so nice chilled!

Super Easy Pistachio Cupcakes w Buttercream Frosting Recipe

My good friend Nars, a cupcake lover like me- was sweet enough to email me a recipe she came across. It’s good to have friends that know what you like because I LOVE this cupcake recipe. It’s easy for anyone who is apprehensive about baking- if you feel intimidated about making your frosting then you could skip that step and just use store bought- but I plead with you to try making your own frosting- it makes a huge difference!

Pistachio Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from: http://shewearsmanyhats.com/2012/03/pistachio-cupcakes/

The original recipe called for white chocolate shavings and curls, but I chose to just place pistachio nuts on top because I have a huge bag of nuts laying around. This cupcake recipe is really delicious and moist and I must say it’s pretty delicious without any frosting too!

Ingredients:

• 1 box of white cake mix & all ingredients it says on the package (usually eggs, oil, water)
• 1 box of pistachio pudding mix
• ¾ cup chopped pistachio nuts *optional
• 24 whole pistachio nuts (set aside to top) *optional
• 1 batch of Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Directions:

1. Combine cake mix and its ingredients according to package directions.
2. Add in pudding mix and combine well. Gently stir in chopped pistachio nuts into batter.
3. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3^rd  full with cupcake batter.
4. Bake as directed on cake mix packaging. I baked my cupcakes at 22 minutes at 350 degrees.
5. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then cool on wire rack completely before frosting and decorating as you like.

Classic Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

This recipe is actually one of my favorite frosting recipes from this blog.

You can see step by step photos here.  

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened Ideal texture should be like ice cream.
• 3-4 cups confectioners’ (powdered) sugar, SIFTED
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• up to 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

1. Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere) until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.

Matcha Green Tea Mochi Cupcakes Recipe

I slightly adjusted this fabulous mochi cupcake recipe from justjennrecipes.com Her blog has fabulous and adorable baking recipes by the way.

1 16-oz. box Mochiko sweet rice flour
1 c. granulated white sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1-1/2 c. milk
3/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 to 2 Tablespoons of Matcha (green tea powder)
1 can of koshi-an (Japanese sweet red bean paste)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until just combined. You can add as much as matcha as you want- depends on how strong you want the green tea flavor.

Fill each lined muffin pan cup halfway, then add a spoonful of koshi-an in the center of each. Cover the bean paste with batter, filling the cups to about 3/4 full. If you don’t want the filling just full the muffin pan cup regularly. I sprinkled toasted black sesame seeds on the ones that had the red bean filling because my son is not a huge fan of unexpected fillings.

This recipe makes about 16 muffins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let it cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove to a wire cooling rack.

Chocolate Cadbury Mini-Egg Brownie Recipe

It all started when I came across this blondie Cadbury mini egg brownie recipe on pinterest here: http://www.bakeaholicmama.com/2012/03/cadbury-mini-egg-blondies.html?m=1 I was dying to try it because Cadbury mini eggs are one of my favorite holiday candies…but somehow I had the urge for chocolate this particular day -so I used my favorite brownie recipe and incorporated the Cadbury mini eggs. Something magical happens to the mini eggs encased in the batter as the brownies bake! Has anyone tried the blondie recipe? I still really want to try that one too!

Enjoy fellow bakers!

 Chocolate Cadbury Mini-Egg Brownie Recipe

(Basic brownie recipe is adapted From Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers, by Nick Malgieri)

Yield: About twenty-four 2-inch-square brownies

• 16 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour

1. One 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan, buttered and lined with buttered parchment or foil. Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

2. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and turn off heat. Combine butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over pan of water. Stir occasionally until melted.

3. Whisk eggs together in a large bowl, then whisk in salt, sugars, and vanilla. Stir in chocolate and butter mixture, then fold in flour. GENTLY fold in as many cadbury eggs you like- I think I folded in about half the bag because I was nibbling on the rest LOL.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 45 minutes, until top has formed a shiny crust and batter is moderately firm. Cool in pan on a rack.

5. To cut brownies, unmold onto a cutting board, remove paper, and replace with another cutting board. Turn cake right side up and trim away edges. Cut brownies into 2-inch squares.

Damn Delicious: Meyer Lemon and Matcha Marble Pound Cake

damndelicious:

I love making muffins. That’s just a fact. But do you know what I hate making? Anything that uses a loaf pan. It’s my krytopnite. Seriously, every time I set out to make a loaf, it is an utter disaster. I put way too much batter into the pan so the sides burn up and then the middle doesn’t…

I must try this recipe…soon.

Super Moist Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I baked these last night so we could have them as nice addition to our breakfast today. The recipe is adapted from one of my favorite banana bread loaf recipes of Martha Stewart’s.

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 very ripe bananas

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Paper line a muffin pan and set aside. Cream butter and sugar together until it becomes light and fluffy mixture. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined.
Mash bananas to a nice pulp- I like to just slice them and pulse them in my smoothie blender with the sour cream and vanilla to get a nice smooth texture for my muffins. If you don’t have a blender of some sort, you can just mash the bananas by hand and add sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Fold in chocolate chips, you can more than 1/2 cup if desired and pour into prepared muffin pan. This recipe makes exactly a dozen muffins.

Bake for 35 min or until golden brown.

Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.